GCSE Computer Science
Course Length
Two years.
Our 21st century world is an ever-changing place where we can now stream high definition movies to our smartphones, video chat with family and friends on the other side of the world and store huge amounts of music or photos in the cloud! We can design cars using a laptop, use voice control to navigate or travel and even do our banking online at home in bed. All of these advances are made possible because of the work of computer scientists. Computer Science is the course that will help you develop the fundamental skills and understanding required to make sense of our digital age, write your own programs and perhaps set you on course for technology that is yet to happen!
What skills do I need?
You should have an interest in computers and programming. You should have good maths skills and a logical mind.
How is the course assessed?
J276/01 Computer Systems 1 hour 30 mins exam | 50%
J276/02 Computational thinking, 1 hour 30 mins exam | 50%
Algorithms, and programming
The Specification
OCR GCSE Computer Science (9-1) J276
Course Content
J276/01 Computer Systems
Introduces students to the central processing unit (CPU), computer memory and storage, wired and wireless networks, network topologies, system security and system software. It also looks at ethical, legal, cultural and environmental concerns associated with computer science.
J276/02 Computational thinking, algorithms, and programming
Students apply knowledge and understanding gained in component J276/ 01. They develop skills and understanding in computational thinking: algorithms, programming techniques, producing robust programs, computational logic, translators and data representation. The skills and knowledge developed within this component will support the learner when completing the Programming Project
Programming Project
Students use the Programming Project tasks to develop their practical ability in the skills developed in components J276/01 and J276/02. They will have the opportunity to create suitable algorithms to achieve their self-de ned success criteria. Students then code their solutions in a programming language called Python which they will document, test and evaluate.
Students have 20 hours timetabled time to complete their Programming Project. The Programming Project does not count towards their final grade, but is a requirement of the course.
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